WASHINGTON - A Democratic congressman compared the NCAA to the Mafia over how it controls the lives of student athletes.

“I think they’re just one of the most vicious, most ruthless organizations ever created by mankind,” Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush said of the NCAA at a congressional forum on college sports Tuesday. “I think you would compare the NCAA to Al Capone and to the Mafia.”

The Chicago Democrat made the accusations at the forum called to look at the impact of “back-room deals, payoffs and scandals” in college sports. The congressman spoke after hearing from a couple of mothers of former student-athletes who complained of ill treatment by schools after their sons suffered injuries.

“Congressman Rush obviously doesn’t know the NCAA,” Bob Williams, a spokesman for the organization, said in an email Tuesday night. “The NCAA and its member institutions provide over $2 billion per year in scholarships, financial assistance and academic support to student-athletes … second only to the federal government. Student-athlete success is our mission.”

Two NBA players also participated in the forum: Thaddeus Young of the Philadelphia 76ers and Shane Battier, a free agent who last played with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Young, who went pro after one year at Georgia Tech, presented one of the few positive accounts of college sports at the forum.

“Georgia Tech is a tremendously hard and difficult school, so they definitely put more time into academics than basketball,” he said. “The teachers - they don’t care if you’re a student-athlete, they just care about student.”

Battier described a college regimen at Duke that included a workout at 6:30 a.m., followed by classes, practice between 4 and 7:30 p.m., and wrapping up schoolwork at 11:30 or midnight.

“It is a full-time job,” he said.

Battier called the NCAA’s decision last week to allow conferences to provide student-athletes up to $2,000 in spending money “a great start.”

“Is that a game-changer? No. What is a game-changer? A game-changer is guaranteeing four-year scholarships. That’s a game-changer,” Battier said. “A game-changer is, `If you commit to our school, and you graduate, we will pay for any graduate degree that you would like to pursue.’”